Methods and systems for plasma deposition and treatment

ABSTRACT

An apparatus for separating ions having different mass or charge includes a waveguide conduit coupled to a microwave source for transmitting microwaves through openings in the waveguide conduit. The outlet ends of pipes are positioned at the openings for transporting material from a material source to the openings. A plasma chamber is in communication with the waveguide tube through the openings. The plasma chamber receives through the openings microwaves from the waveguide tube and material from the pipes. The plasma chamber includes magnets disposed in an outer wall thereof for forming a magnetic field in the plasma chamber. The plasma chamber includes a charged cover at a side of the chamber opposite the side containing the openings. The cover includes extraction holes through which ion beams from the plasma chamber are extracted. Deflectors coupled to one of the extraction holes receive the ion beams extracted from the plasma chamber. Each deflector bends an ion beam and provides separate passages for capturing ions following different trajectories from the bending of the ion beam based on their respective mass or charge.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No.12/776,132 filed on May 7, 2010 and entitled METHODS AND SYSTEMS FORPLASMA DEPOSITION AND TREATMENT, which claims priority from U.S.Provisional Patent Application No. 61/176,715 filed on May 8, 2009 andentitled METHODS AND SYSTEMS FOR PLASMA DEPOSITION AND TREATMENT, bothof which applications are incorporated by reference herein.

BACKGROUND

The present invention generally relates to methods and systems fordeposition of materials on substrates using plasmas and the treatment ofobjects using microwave radiation and plasma.

Deposition technologies include physical vapor deposition (PVD),chemical vapor deposition (CVD) (either at atmospheric pressure (APCVD)or reduced pressure (LPCVD)), electroplating, evaporation, thermal flamespray, and thermal plasma spray. Many of these deposition technologiesare used for the manufacture of materials layers such as semiconductors,carbon-nanotubes, industrial coatings, biomedical coatings, and thelike. Oftentimes a balance has to be struck between technical concernssuch as layer adhesion, contamination from undesirable elements,deposition rates, and uniformity (both on a global and on a microscopicscale), and commercial concerns such as the cost of performing such adeposition (materials costs and the effective use of the materials) aswell as the cost of the manufacturing equipment deployed.

Generally, processes that employ a vacuum or reduced pressureenvironment are subject to higher capital equipment costs anddemonstrate lower deposition rates. However, the benefit of operating ina reduced pressure environment is often a reduction of contamination andan increase in uniformity and adhesion effectiveness. Furthermore, someprocesses may not work at all at higher pressures and therefore requirea lower pressure or vacuum level operating regime.

Plasma deposition technologies such as PVD and CVD are commonly deployedin areas such as the manufacturing of semiconductor devices. Severalmethods for generating plasmas are known in the art. Arc plasmas createa plasma by applying a DC voltage between two elements such as an anodeand a cathode. The resulting stream of electrons (arc) is responsiblefor creating very high temperatures in their path through collisionswith other molecules and atoms in the arc discharge region. A commonproblem with arc discharge plasmas is that they consume their electrodesover time. In other words, the arc sputters material from theelectrodes, which is subsequently co-deposited or entered into theplasma area. In several processes such as in the deposition of materialsthat are required to remain very pure, such co-deposition can bedetrimental, even at very low contamination levels. As an example, evensmall amounts of co-deposited metals can be detrimental to thefunctioning of semiconductors and solar photovoltaic materials.

Inductively Coupled Plasma (ICP) sources typically employ an electricalcoil powered by radio frequency signal (around 1-13 MHz is common rangeof frequencies). The RF signal generates a rapidly changingelectromagnetic field. This field can be coupled into a chamber toproduce a plasma.

Electron Cyclotron Resonance or ECR plasma sources are commonly used tosupport deposition chemistries for various materials. ECR sourcescombine a microwave source (typically operated between 1 and 10 GHz) anda permanent- or electro-magnetic field, in which the microwave sourcesupplies power to the plasma discharge region and where the magneticfield is responsible for the creation of helical paths for chargedparticles such as electrons and ions. Thus, because of the helicalpaths, the collision probability between charged particles and neutralparticles is significantly increased, resulting in much longer residencetimes for the charged particles in the plasma region and an enhancedinteraction time between the charged particles and other particles inthe plasma. This enhanced residence time allows the charged particles(particularly the electrons) to create additional ionized particles inthe plasma, resulting in much higher charge concentrations in the plasmaregion. These higher charge concentrations result in higher extractionrates of the desired particles. This is particularly useful in processessuch as ion assisted deposition or in ion doping processes. Furthermore,the longer residence time of the electrons allows for an overallincrease of the plasma temperature.

ECR plasmas are very common in the manufacturing of semiconductordevices. Most ECR plasma systems require vacuum levels well belowatmosphere to be able to operate, and thus require expensive equipment.However ECR phenomena have been observed at elevated pressures as well.

In general, plasmas exhibit some unique characteristics such as theformation of (meta) stable surface waves in which plasma waves can beemitted over long distances away from their source of origin. Plasmasources that deliberately enhance the formation of waves are SurfaceWave Plasma sources (SWPs). They are also referred to as “Surfatrons”.Surfatrons are plasma sources that are deliberately designed to createenhanced plasma wave operations.

Flame Spray Plasmas (FSPs) create a plasma flame, which is created bythe chemical reaction of one or more gasses (usually the combination ofa carrier gas such as methane and a reaction gas such as air or pureoxygen) while coming out of an instrument such as a torch. The materialthat is to be deposited is introduced into the flame, typically inpowder or sometimes in solid form, whereby rapid melting of the materialoccurs. The molten material/plasma stream is then aimed at the substrateor surface to be coated. The plasma temperature of a FSP system istypically in the range of 2,000-5,000° C.

Thermal Spray Plasmas (TSPS) do not rely on a chemical reaction, butrather rely on physical processes to create a plasma and a moltenparticle stream. A typical TSP will use either a DC plasma arc (alsocalled a DC Plasmatron) or a radio-frequency induced plasma (also calledan inductively coupled Plasmatron). In either case, a plasma is createdand the to-be-coated material is introduced into the plasma stream,where it is rapidly melted. The plasma/material stream is then aimed ata substrate where the material deposits and re-solidifies. The plasmatemperature of a TSP system is typically in the range of 5,000-12,000°C.

The above mentioned processes for plasma generation such InductivelyCoupled Plasmas, ECR plasmas, Flame Spray Plasmas, and Thermal SprayPlasmas are all commonly known in the art and have all been used orattempted to be used for the deposition of materials used insemiconductor manufacturing as well as for the deposition ofphotovoltaic active layers and other areas where deposition of materialsis desired.

Common problems with the application of these plasmas to materials andsubstrates involve the co-deposition of undesirable materials that areintroduced through either the erosion of the chamber that contains theplasma, or by the use of starting materials that already contain suchcontamination. The very high temperature of plasmas essentiallyevaporates some material of the chamber and electrodes surrounding it.Strategies such as the use of shielding or liners, or the use of chambermaterials that are not contaminating when co-deposited are a commonpractice. One disadvantage of shielding and liners is that they tooeventually get coated with the to-be-deposited materials or with otherresidual process effluents. Such depositions ultimately may result inthe materials flaking off and falling on the substrate that is inprocess. These unintended particles or flakes are generally verydestructive to the semiconductor devices in process, and great care istypically taking to minimize any risk of particles falling on thesubstrate. Oftentimes monitoring and periodic cleaning processes areemployed to ensure that the flaking of materials is very limited orprevented as much as possible.

Low pressure plasmas have a tendency to also have low deposition rates.Low deposition rates can mean long process times, which means lowequipment throughput. The cost of vacuum equipment is typically veryhigh and the combination of long deposition times and high equipmentcost is usually not desirable. However, vacuum based processes typicallyexhibit good adhesion to the substrate because of the absence orlowering of surface contamination (water molecules are a primary culpritin poor adhesion). Furthermore, vacuum chambers typically allow for thecreation of stable, large area plasmas which allow for good uniformityacross a substrate. Uniformity of the deposited layer is importantbecause the performance of the layer is oftentimes critically dependenton the layer thickness. Uniformities where the layer thickness variesless than a few percent of the overall layer thickness across thesubstrate are often the goal. Various strategies have been employed toensure layer uniformity, oftentimes involving moving either thedeposition source or the substrate in a pattern across a target area.Other strategies involve the design of the source and gas injectionsystem in such a way that diffusion of the deposition occurs over alarge, uniform area.

BRIEF SUMMARY

In accordance with one or more embodiments of the invention, methods andsystems are provided for material deposition using a plasma for thecreation of multilayer structures for various applications, includingphotovoltaic applications and the manufacturing and implementation ofsuch layers into photovoltaic panels and integrated into building energymanagement systems. While the methods and systems can be used for thedeposition of semiconductor materials such as used in semiconductormanufacturing or in the manufacturing of photovoltaic panels, it shouldbe clearly understood that these methods and systems can be used in allmanner of deposition technologies, including but not limited to thedeposition of materials for catalytic converters, thin film batteries,film based capacitors, proton-exchange membranes, films using bonematerial for the preparation of implants into the human body, coatingsfor increasing the hardness or wear resistance of components such asturbine blades or drill bits, and films for the coating of the interioror exterior of pipes and the like. Furthermore, the methods and systemsdescribed herein can be used for the coating and curing of layers suchas the curing of plastics and inks onto paper or the adhesion of metalto plastics as well as for the creation of multilayer structures usedfor the manufacturing of quantum well devices, superconducting layersand light emitting diodes. In addition, many applications exist for themethods and system described herein for the sterilization and/or heatingof surfaces such as needed for many biomedical applications. Alsodescribed herein are methods and systems used for the creation ofmicrowave patterns such as used in the detection of objects (RAdioDetection And Ranging or RADAR). Furthermore, the methods and systemsdescribed herein can be applied to plasma propulsion systems such asused in space vehicles.

In no way is the description of the applications of the presentinvention intended to limit the invention to these applications. Ingeneral, substantially any process that uses microwaves for thedeposition of materials can benefit from the present invention.

In accordance with one or more embodiments, methods and systems areprovided wherein a waveguide receives microwaves from a source andtransmits these microwaves through slots in the side of the waveguidethat are sufficiently large to allow for the passage of the microwavesin a plane primarily perpendicular to the primary axis of the waveguideinto a plasma chamber. In some embodiments, the waveguide has slots onone or more of its sides. In some embodiments, these slots are cut at anangle to the primary axis of the waveguide. In some embodiments, theangle between the primary axis of the waveguide and the main axis of theslots can range between 0 and 90 degrees. In some embodiments, the angleis cut at 45 degrees.

In accordance with one or more embodiments, methods and systems areprovided wherein the waveguide is penetrated on a side opposite theslots by one or more pipes or tubes. In some embodiments, such tubes areconstructed from metals or ceramics suitable for operation at elevatedtemperatures. In some embodiments, such pipes are use to transportmaterials across the microwave tube into the slots that lead to a plasmachamber. In other embodiments, each of the pipes contains differentmaterials or combinations of materials.

In accordance with one or more embodiments, methods and systems areprovided wherein the plasma chamber is equipped with permanent orelectromagnets in order to allow for the creation of an ElectronCyclotron Resonance (ECR) effect. In some embodiments, the magnets haveorientations suitable for the creation of high magnetic fields along thewall of the chamber and a substantially low magnetic field along theprimary axis of the plasma chamber. In some embodiments, the magnets arepermanent magnets. In some embodiments, the magnets are arranged in alogical pattern in between the microwave slots. In some embodiments, themagnets are arranged along an axis primarily parallel to the main axisof the plasma chamber. In some embodiments, the magnets are arranged atan angle to the main axis of the plasma chamber. In some embodiments,the magnets are arranged at an angle of 45 degrees to the main axis ofthe microwave chamber. In some embodiments, the magnets are mounted incavities in the walls of the ECR chamber to keep them from being exposedto the plasma in the chamber. In some embodiments, the short walls ofthe ECR chamber are created to be primarily parallel to the microwaveslots.

In accordance with one or more embodiments, methods and systems areprovided wherein a waveguide receives microwave radiation from a sourceand wherein the waveguide has slots cut into one or more of its sides toallow the microwave radiation to enter an ECR plasma chamber and whereinthere are pipes or tubes on the opposite side of the microwave slots toallow for the introduction of materials such as gasses, powders,liquids, solids or any combination of these. In some embodiments, thematerials are mixes of materials. In some embodiments, the materials arepowders that are coated with other materials so that the core of thepowder has a lower melting temperature than the coating and so that theinternal material melts away while in the plasma discharge region andthereby leaves a hollow shell that can be deposited on the substrate. Insome embodiments, such pipes can be individually controlled as to howmuch material to introduce into such a plasma chamber and as to at whattime. In some embodiments, the material is provided through the pipes ina pulsed fashion. In some embodiments, such material pulses allow forthe very rapid deposition of alternating materials similar to a processknown as “Atomic Layer Deposition” or ALD. In some embodiments, thepipes contain physical features such as tapered openings or bends thatallow for directional flows of the materials into the plasma chamber. Insome embodiments, the materials directed into the plasma chamber areheated by the ECR plasma and partially or fully melted or evenevaporated. In some embodiments, such melted or evaporated materials aredirected to a surface where they are deposited to form a layer. In yetanother embodiment, the pipes are very small and emit very narrowstreams of materials which are used to create individual lines of thematerial onto the substrate being treated. In some embodiments,individual pipes are independently controlled such as is common ininkjet printer technology.

In accordance with one or more embodiments, methods and systems areprovided wherein a waveguide receives microwave radiation from a sourceand wherein the waveguide has slots cut into one or more of its sides toallow the microwave radiation to enter an ECR plasma chamber and whereinthere are pipes or tubes on the opposite side of the microwave slots toallow for the introduction of materials such as gasses, powders,liquids, solids or any combination of these and wherein the plasmachamber is outfitted by a set up magnets to create an ECR effect.Furthermore, methods and systems are provided wherein the ECR chamber isenclosed by a cover that allows for a more complete containment of theECR plasma such that the plasma can be operated at a pressure that isdifferent from the environment around the chamber. In some embodiments,the cover contains slits predominantly parallel and coincident to themicrowave slots. In some embodiments, the space between the slitscontains additional magnets. In some embodiments, a secondary slit ormultiple sets of slits are provided that can be held at an electricalvoltage that is substantially different from the plasma chamber'svoltage. In some embodiments, such secondary slits are used to extractions or electrons or other charged particles from the ECR plasmachamber. In further embodiments, such charged particles are used toimplant into or treat surfaces of a substrate.

In accordance with one or more embodiments, methods and systems areprovided wherein a waveguide receives microwave radiation from a sourceand wherein the waveguide has slots cut into one or more of its side toallow the microwave radiation to enter an ECR plasma chamber and whereinthere are pipes or tubes on the opposite side of the microwave slots toallow for the introduction of materials such as gasses, powders,liquids, solids or any combination of these and wherein the plasmachamber is outfitted by a set up magnets to create an ECR effect. Insome embodiments, the waveguide and plasma chamber are shaped in a bendto conform to the surface of the object to be coated such as a cylinderor such as a pipe. The waveguides and/or plasma chambers can beconstructed to assume many different shapes and configurations so as toeffectively coat a non-planar surface. In some embodiments, thewaveguide is circular in shape. In yet another embodiment, the waveguideis helical in shape. In a further embodiment, the waveguide is shaped todirect microwaves to a part of a human anatomy, wherein one advantage isthat the microwave guide may provide a focal point inside the human bodywhere as a result, the concentration of microwaves is much higher thanat any point on the surface of the body. In another embodiment, themicrowave guide is shaped to concentrate microwave radiation in a singlepoint or along a single line so that the local microwave power issubstantially higher than the power emitted from the individual slots.

In accordance with one or more embodiments, methods and systems areprovided wherein a waveguide receives microwave radiation from a sourceand wherein the waveguide has slots cut into one or more of its sides toallow the microwave radiation to exit the waveguide throughappropriately sized slots. In some embodiments, the exit slots aregenerally evenly spaced along one or more sides of the waveguide,whereby the spacing of the slots is designed to be approximately ¼ ofthe wavelength of the microwaves in the waveguide. In some embodiments,the waveguide is terminated by a plunger that is moveably mounted at theend of the waveguide. Such a plunger effectively allows the end of thewaveguide to be tuned so that the power of the microwave radiationexiting the slots can be optimized. In some embodiments, such awaveguide is used for to emit radiation for the purpose of range finding(RADAR).

In accordance with one or more embodiments, methods and systems areprovided wherein a waveguide receives microwave radiation from a sourceand wherein the waveguide has primary slots cut into one of its sides toallow the microwave radiation to exit the waveguide throughappropriately sized slots and wherein the waveguide is terminated by amoveable first plunger, and wherein furthermore additional secondaryslots are cut approximately equal in size to the first set of slots butlocated in the opposite wall of the waveguide. In some embodiments, suchsecondary slots are fitted with a secondary set of plungers called“ejectors.” In some embodiments, such secondary sets of ejectors areused to create an amplification of the emitted radiation through theprimary slots, resulting in a significant increase of emitted microwavepower and an increase in the narrowness of the emitted microwaves beams.In some embodiments, such secondary plungers are used to optimally tunethe emittance of each individual slot. In further embodiments, suchsecondary plungers are used to create a second standing microwaveexiting the waveguide's primary openings. In some embodiments, theprimary slots and the secondary plungers are used to emit radiation intoa plasma chamber. In a further embodiment, such emitted radiation isused to create a surface wave plasma in the plasma chamber. In furtherembodiments, the emittance of surface wave plasma is used to impartmomentum on a space vehicle. In yet another embodiment, the surface waveplasma is combined with a magnetic field to create both a surface waveplasma as well as an ECR plasma in the plasma chamber region.

In accordance with one or more embodiments, methods and systems areprovided wherein a waveguide receives microwave radiation from a sourceand wherein the waveguide has primary slots cut into one of its sides toallow the microwave radiation to exit the waveguide throughappropriately sized slots. In some embodiments, multiple waveguides andsources are arranged in a pattern. In some embodiments, a pattern isdesigned in such a way that each microwave guide's exit slots face acommon area. In some embodiments, such a pattern is a target object.

In accordance with one or more embodiments, methods and systems areprovided wherein a waveguide receives microwave radiation from a sourceand wherein the waveguide has primary slots cut into one of its sides toallow the microwave radiation to exit the waveguide throughappropriately sized slots and wherein the waveguide is terminated by amoveable first plunger, and wherein furthermore additional secondaryslots are cut approximately equal in size to the first set of slots butlocated in the opposite wall of the waveguide and wherein such secondaryplungers are made hollow to allow for the passage of materials throughthe body of the plunger into the primary exit slots of the waveguide. Insome embodiments, such hollow secondary plungers are used to delivermaterials to a plasma chamber approximately connected to the primaryexit slots of the wave guide. In some embodiments, such materials aredelivered to an ECR plasma chamber which uses magnetic fields to createplasma conditions. In yet another embodiment the plasma chamber containsadditional covers and extraction slits to extract specific chargedparticles from the plasma in the plasma chamber. In another embodiment,such a secondary plunger and the primary slots in the waveguidecooperate together to create a surface wave plasma and the materialsmoving through the secondary plunger is directly fed into the surfacewave plasma.

In accordance with one or more embodiments, methods and systems areprovided wherein multiple waveguides receive microwave radiation fromone or more microwave sources and wherein such waveguides containprimary slots for the passage of microwave radiation into plasmachambers and wherein the plasma chambers are equipped with magnets tocreate ECR plasma conditions. In some embodiments, multipleconfigurations are setup in serial fashion where some configurations areused for powders or solids, others for gasses, others for the extractionof ions and or electrons and yet others for combinations of the all ofthe above. In some embodiments, such configurations are used for thedeposition of multilayered structures such as those used for thecreation of films for the manufacturing of photovoltaic modules. In someembodiments, such arrangement of multiple microwave sources is used forthe formation of multilayer structures such as those used in thin filmbatteries, medical devices, electronic devices, coatings on componentsand other applications as previously discussed.

In accordance with one or more embodiments, methods and systems areprovided wherein a waveguide receives microwave radiation from a sourceand wherein the waveguide has primary slots cut into one of its sides toallow the microwave radiation to exit the waveguide throughappropriately sized slots. In some embodiments, the primary slots in thewaveguide are closed off by a vacuum tight surface that is permeable bymicrowave radiation but not for the atmospheric environment. In someembodiments, the vacuum tight surface allows for the passage of pipesinto the region beyond the waveguide. In some embodiments, the waveguideis proximately mounted to a vacuum chamber where the plasma connectablylocated at the primary slots. In some embodiments, such a plasma chamberis an ECR chamber. In further embodiments such a plasma chamber isequipped with extraction slots to extract charged particles from theplasma. In some embodiments, such extracted particles are used for ionimplantation or ion treatment of surfaces.

In accordance with one or more embodiments, methods and systems areprovided wherein a waveguide receives microwave radiation from a sourceand wherein the waveguide has primary slots cut into one of its sides toallow the microwave radiation to exit the waveguide throughappropriately sized slots. In some embodiments, the waveguide has smallpipes on the side opposite the primary slots which penetrate through thewaveguide into the primary slots. In some embodiments, such primarypipes are physically shaped to provide directionality to the stream ofmaterial going through the pipes. In yet another embodiment, the shapeof the pipes conforms to the surface being treated such as the surfaceof a glass substrate with a corrugated or wavy shape. In furtherembodiments, the wavy glass substrate is coated with photovoltaicmaterials.

Various embodiments of the invention are provided in the followingdetailed description. As will be realized, the invention is capable ofother and different embodiments, and its several details may be capableof modifications in various respects, all without departing from theinvention. Accordingly, the drawings and description are to be regardedas illustrative in nature and not in a restrictive or limiting sense,with the scope of the application being indicated in the claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a Thermal or Flame Spray Plasma coating system inaccordance with the prior art.

FIG. 2 illustrates a DC arc Thermal Spray Plasma system in accordancewith the prior art.

FIG. 3 illustrates an inductively coupled, radio frequency Thermal SprayPlasma system in accordance with the prior art.

FIG. 4 illustrates a prior art DC arc Thermal Spray Plasma systemdisclosed in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. US20080220558, inwhich certain elements have been replaced with silicon or silicon coatedcomponents.

FIGS. 5A and 5B (collectively referred to herein as FIG. 5) illustrate aprior art Electron Cyclotron Resonant plasma chamber as disclosed inU.S. Pat. No. 7,305,935, in which longitudinal magnets placed along theaxis of a microwave guide where microwave radiation is transmittedthrough longitudinal slots in the microwave guide to generate anElectron Cyclotron Resonant plasma.

FIGS. 6A and 6B illustrate a system for generating of a surface waveplasma known in accordance with the prior art.

FIG. 7 illustrates a system including a microwave guide and plasmachamber in accordance with one or more embodiments of the presentinvention in which material feed pipes are arranged along the top of amicrowave guide in a diagonal pattern to feed material into a plasmachamber.

FIG. 8 illustrates the assembly of FIG. 7, wherein the plasma chamberand the microwave guide have been separated, and where the diagonalslots and the interspaced magnets placed along the surface of the plasmachamber are visible.

FIG. 9 illustrates penetration of the material feed tubes through themicrowave guide so that material and microwaves enter into the plasmachamber through the same openings in accordance with one or moreembodiments.

FIG. 10 illustrates the assembly of the microwave tube and plasmachamber in accordance with one or more embodiments.

FIG. 11 illustrates a waveguide plunger and an extraction system forions or electrons mounted to the plasma chamber in accordance with oneor more embodiments. Several components have been moved to allow aneasier view at the assembly.

FIG. 12 illustrates a different view of FIG. 11 where the extractionslit set has been separated from the main plasma chamber to allow abetter view of the assembly.

FIG. 13 illustrates an alternate embodiment of the present inventionwhere small, individual feed pipes allow for precise deposition patternsthrough the plasma chamber.

FIGS. 14A-14D illustrate several patterns emitted by several plasmasystems in accordance with one or more embodiments.

FIGS. 15A and 15B illustrate a small composite particle comprising twoor more layers before and after it passing through the plasma chamber.

FIGS. 16A-16E illustrate variations of magnet placements along thesurfaces of the various embodiments of the present invention.

FIGS. 17A and 17B illustrate various possible implementations ofmaterial feed pipe systems into the plasma chamber assembly inaccordance with one or more embodiments.

FIGS. 18A and 18B show cross sectional views of the material feed systemand the plasma chamber/charge particle extraction system in accordancewith one or more embodiments.

FIGS. 19A and 19B illustrate variations in which the wave guide andplasma chamber are shaped in a fashion to complement the shape of anobject to be treated in accordance with one or more embodiments.

FIGS. 20A and 20B illustrate an alternative arrangement which allows foruniform emission of microwave radiation along the surface of an annularwave guide in accordance with one or more embodiments.

FIG. 21 illustrates an alternate arrangement of a wave guide allowingfor a controllable uniform or directional emission of microwaveradiation along a helical waveguide in accordance with one or moreembodiments.

FIG. 22 illustrates a dual plunger waveguide system with material feedsystem in accordance with one or more embodiments.

FIG. 23 shows a close-up view of a section of FIG. 22 illustrating thesecondary plunger and material feed system in accordance with one ormore embodiments.

FIG. 24 illustrates a cross sectional view of the system of FIG. 22allowing a view into the interior arrangement of the major components ofa dual plunger microwave generator system.

FIG. 25 illustrates a close-up cross-sectional view of the primary andsecondary microwave plungers of FIG. 24.

FIG. 26 illustrates an alternative embodiment of the present inventionwith the orientation of the secondary plunger and material injectionsystems along a primary axis of the waveguide.

FIG. 27 illustrates a cross sectional view through an assembly of thedual plunger microwave system and an ECR plasma chamber in accordancewith one or more embodiments.

FIGS. 28A and 28B illustrate a dual plunger microwave emission system,where the primary objective of the secondary plunger is to amplify andimprove the directionality of the microwave emission from the slots inthe microwave guide in accordance with one or more embodiments.

FIG. 29 shows a cross-sectional view of the microwave system of FIG. 28.

FIG. 30 illustrates a close up view of the dual plunger system of FIG.28.

FIG. 31 illustrates a system combining multiple microwave or plasmasources arranged so as to provide a concentrated beam location inaccordance with one or more embodiments.

FIGS. 32A and 32B show a layered structure of a thin-film photovoltaicsystem in accordance with the prior art.

FIG. 33 illustrates a multistep deposition system using multipleconfigurations to create a multilayer deposition structure in accordancewith one or more embodiments.

FIG. 34 demonstrates the deployment of a plasma system in accordancewith one or more embodiments in a vacuum chamber for treatment ofmaterials.

FIG. 35 illustrates a “see through” image showing a variation of theplasma system in accordance with one or more embodiments using pre-bendexit elements of the material feed system to allow for deposition onuneven surfaces.

FIG. 36 shows an implementation of FIG. 35 into a system for coatingwavy or corrugated surfaces in accordance with one or more embodiments.

FIG. 37 illustrates an embodiment in which the ejected ions aredeflected using a number of magnets in order to separate out variousdifferences in ion mass and charge.

FIG. 38 is a cross-sectional view of the drawing in FIG. 37, wherein theinjector and the exiting ion beam can be seen going through thedeflector magnet.

FIG. 39 illustrates an alternative technique for ion deflection whereinthe ions are deflected and separated by mass and charge usingelectrostatic deflection.

FIG. 40 is a cross sectional view of the deflector of FIG. 39.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 is a simplified diagram of components of a Thermal Spray Plasma(TSP) system as is commonly known in the art. A plasma source 101generates a high temperature plasma environment, typically withtemperatures ranging from 5,000 to 12,000° C. The temperature of theplasma is determined by a number of operating parameters, such as thepower supplied to the plasma source, the powder or solid material feedrates that are supplied to the source region, the amount of gas that isintroduced, the environmental pressure, etc. The introduction of gassesinto the plasma chamber results in a plasma jet 102 being emitted fromthe plasma source. An injector 105 can inject additional materials intothe plasma chamber 101 or into a convenient location in the plasma jet102 that is emitted from the chamber. The materials that are injectedinto the plasma stream can be in almost any form, whether they aregaseous, liquid, solids, powders and combinations thereof. Commonmaterials that are used in the art include ceramics, silicon, metals,plastics, bone etc. The temperature of the plasma jet and the velocityin which materials are fed into the jet, will determine the detailedbehavior of the materials while they are being melted in the plasma jet.The plasma beam 102 is directed towards a substrate 104 where theinjected material results in a deposition layer 103 on the substrate.Oftentimes the plasma source 101 and injector 105 are movably mountedwith respect to the substrate. In some embodiments, the substrate 104 ismovably mounted in respect to the plasma source 101 and injector 105. Inother embodiments, both the substrate and the plasma source are movablymounted.

FIG. 2 depicts a schematic diagram commonly known in the art as a DC-ArcThermal Spray Plasma system. A cylindrical cathode 201 commonly has asmall pipe 202 fitted through its center. The pipe 202 is used tointroduce materials such as gasses, solid, liquids, powders and the likeinto the plasma generation area 208. In addition to, or instead of usingthe pipe 202, materials can also be introduced into the plasma throughentry ports on the side of the plasma chamber by pipe 203 and into thestream of the plasma coming out of the plasma chamber by pipe 205.Moveable material injection systems 206 have also been used to introducematerials into the plasma area. A DC power supply 207 is used to createa DC arc discharge between the anode 204 and the cathode 201. This DCarc creates a large current between the anode and the cathode which inturn allows for the creation of plasma in the discharge region 208. Itis commonly known that DC arc plasmas also introduce some materials thatare removed from the anode and cathode by the high electron flux and theexposure to the high plasma temperatures. Since the anode and cathodeare commonly constructed using copper or other suitable metals, thesemetals are as a result introduced into the plasma stream andco-deposited onto the substrate being treated. In many applications thissmall amount of co-deposited material is not in problem, however insemiconductor applications such a co-deposition can be detrimental thesemiconducting function of the material, significantly altering thematerials' desirable properties, even at very low contamination levels.

FIG. 3 shows an alternate approach for the creation of a thermal sprayplasma system using a Radio Frequency (RF) coil for the generation ofpower. In the figure, a cathode 301 contains a small pipe 302 thatallows for the introduction of materials into the plasma region 308. Thecoil 303 receives a RF signal and creates a rapidly alternating magneticfield in the discharge region, which leads to the creating of plasma inthe center of the structure. The RF signal is coupled to the plasma byemitting radio waves from the coil into the plasma region 308. The coil303 is typically enclosed in a housing 307 that is made from a suitablematerial able to withstand the exposure to the plasma and the hightemperatures that are created. In some cases, in addition to or insteadof materials being introduced through the pipe 302, materials can alsobe introduced into the plasma region 308 through pipes 304, 305 orthrough movable pipes 306 or in any convenient combination of the above.

FIG. 4 shows a view of the main assembly from of a DC arc Thermal SprayPlasma system from U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 20080220558,wherein the components that are exposed to the plasma area of thedischarge chamber have been replaced by parts made from silicon, dopedsilicon, or from materials that are coated with silicon layers or dopedsilicon layers. The concept of replacing components that are normallymade with metals such as copper, stainless steel, or brass withmaterials that have been clad with silicon or that are made out ofsilicon is intended to reduce the contamination from those metalssurrounding the discharge chamber. Thus, where normally brass, copper,or stainless steel is exposed to the plasma in the chamber, now insteadthe plasma only sees silicon and hence it will only be silicon that isintroduced into the plasma. In this way, the discharge plasma is stillcontaminated, but the contamination is now silicon, which is essentiallynot a contaminant for a silicon deposition. Other materials that areessentially not contaminants could also have been chosen, such asgraphite, quartz or other suitable materials.

FIG. 5 shows a drawing from U.S. Pat. No. 7,305,935 in which an ECRplasma chamber 50 is connectably mounted against a microwave tube 52.The ECR chamber contains magnets 58, 60 and 62 that are placed parallelto the major axis of the chamber to create a high magnetic field nearthe walls of the chamber and a substantially reduced magnetic field nearthe center of the chamber. Furthermore, longitudinal openings 59 areplaced in two rows along the microwave guide to allow for the passage ofmicrowave from the guide into the ECR chamber region 51. These openingshave been spaced and sized such that the microwave energy is able toexit into the plasma chamber.

FIG. 6 shows a rectangular microwave guide at the end of which a plungerhas been inserted “waveguide plunger” and through which a coaxialsection has been cut with a secondary plunger “coaxial plunger” as isknown in the prior art. The coaxial section contains a secondary plungerwhich faces an opening on the opposite wall of the waveguide. Thisopening functions as a launching gap through which a Surface Wave Plasma(SWP) is emitted. A discharge tube is inserted through the coaxialsection in order to bring gasses into the discharge area. Plasma iscreated on the inside of the discharge tube and is sustained by themicrowaves emitted from the launcher gap. FIG. 6A shows a perspectiveview of the SWP Surfatron, whereas FIG. 6B shows a cross-sectional viewof the Surfatron.

FIG. 7 illustrates a microwave waveguide body 703 in accordance with oneor more embodiments where microwave radiation 701 is introduced from amicrowave source (not shown). A flange 702 is used to connect thepresent section of the microwave guide to the source or throughadditional sections of microwave guide. The microwave guide body 703 ispenetrated by one or more pipes 704 through which materials can passinto a plasma chamber 705. The plasma chamber 705 can be covered with anumber of magnets 706. The resulting ECR plasma 708 is used to melt orevaporate materials that are coming through the pipes 704 into theplasma chamber 705. The materials are directed from the plasma region708 onto a substrate 707, which can be moved with respect to the plasmasource. Multiple arrangements of pipes, magnets and ECR chamber shapesare possible in accordance with various embodiments. Furthermore, theECR/Waveguide assembly can be moveably mounted to coat a substrate orthe substrate can be moved along a stationary ECR/Waveguide assembly, orthat both of the assemblies are movable in a suitable pattern withrespect to each other. It can also been seen from the figure that apattern of pipes 704 can be created that is primarily at an angle withrespect to the main axis 709 of the waveguide 703. The advantage of sucha pattern is that there can be an overlap of the exiting plasma jets inthe plasma region 708 such that a much more uniform plasma discharge canbe created.

FIG. 8 shows another aspect of the elements of FIG. 7 in which theplasma chamber 705 has been separated from the microwave guide 703 sothat the orientation and pattern of magnets 802, 803 and slots 801 canbe more readily seen. As can be seen from the figure, the pipes 704follow the same pattern as the slots 801 in the body of the ECR chamber705. Furthermore, it can be seen from the figure that the magnets on thetop of the chamber are at an angle to the primary axis 709 of thewaveguide. In fact, the magnets 802 in the top of the chamber arealigned with the slots 801 in the chamber. As can also be seen from thefigure, the magnets 706 that are mounted to the ECR chamber are mountedin small cavities on the exterior of the chamber. The reason for this isthat the magnets should not be exposed to the plasma in the chamberdirectly because they are typically unable to withstand the hightemperatures associated with plasmas and neither should they be exposedto the plasma in the chamber for fear that they might contaminate thedeposition process when small particles are removed from the magnets bythe plasma. The arrangement shown in FIG. 8 shows that the magnets canbe shielded from the plasma by the ECR chamber itself. The ECR chambercould be made out of materials that if removed into the plasma would notmatter to the contamination of the plasma. For depositions involvingsemiconductor materials one could think of using, without limitation,materials for the ECR chamber such as silicon, graphite, quartz, aluminaor silicon coated materials.

FIG. 9 shows the underside waveguide from FIGS. 7 and 8 with the ECRchamber completely removed from the figure. As illustrated, the pipes704 penetrate the waveguide 703 and are arranged such that they end nearthe slots that allow for passage of the microwaves into the plasmachamber. It can be seen from the figure that this arrangement allows formaterials 901 and microwaves 701 to be introduced at the sameapproximate location 903 into the ECR plasma chamber through the slots902. The pipes and slots may be arranged in many different patterns andthat each pipe may contain different materials.

FIG. 10 depicts the combined microwave guide 703 and ECR plasma chamber705 from FIGS. 7, 8 and 9. In the present view, the material pipes 704can be seen exiting the slots for the microwaves 1001. The internal sideof the ECR plasma chamber 1002 does not expose any undesirable materialsto the plasma itself, except for the material that the ECR chamber isconstructed out of. The magnets 706 and 803 are kept separate and awayfrom the plasma area, however, the magnetic field lines can easilypenetrate the plasma area if the ECR chamber is constructed fromnon-magnetic materials such as for example graphite.

FIG. 11 illustrates an alternative embodiment of the present invention.The microwave guide 703 is terminated at one end by a moveable waveguide plunger 1101. An adjustment screw 1102 or similar convenientmechanism can be used to move the plunger 1101 into a position where themaximum of microwave power exits through the slots 902. Differentoperating conditions may require different positions of the plunger tooptimize power output through the slots. A combination of shorterstraight pipes 1103 supports a pipe 1104 with a tapered exit opening. Insome embodiments, the straight pipes 1103 carry gasses to the plasmachamber, and the tapered pipes carry powders into the plasma chamber.The ECR chamber 1105 has short angled walls with respect to the majoraxis of the system rather than the rectangular wall as seen in FIG. 7through 9. Such an arrangement keeps the walls of the ECR chamber 1105approximately at equal distance from the slots 902 whereas a rectangularchamber such as was shown the earlier figures has one end of the slotcloser to the short walls of the ECR chamber, thereby potentiallycreating a non-uniformity in the corner furthest away from the slot.Referring again to the figure, the ECR chamber 1105 is covered by aplate 1106. The cover plate 1106 is outfitted with slits 1109 that allowfor passage of plasma or particles from the ECR plasma region into theexterior environment of the source. It will be understood that commonlysuch slits are located opposite the slots 902 that allow for passage ofmicrowaves into the ECR chamber; however other arrangements can easilybe envisioned. Additional magnets 1108 can be located in the coverplate, again arranged in various ways. Such magnets 1108 are arranged toprevent plasma from getting in close proximity to the internal side ofthe cover 1106 which is closest to the plasma region.

Furthermore, as can be seen in the figure it is possible to add a secondcover 1110, also equipped with slits 1111. The second cover 1110 can bemounted on insulators 1107 so that the cover 1110 can beelectrostatically charged to a different potential than the sourceitself. Such a positive potential or negative potential can be used toextract electrons or ions or other charged particles from the plasmaregion. It should be understood that covers with different slitarrangements as well as additional covers with slits and otherelectrostatic or magnetic field components can be arranged to shape theextracted beams of particles or to select certain particles over otherparticles such as is commonly done in mass separators in ion implanters,whether done electrostatically or magnetically.

FIG. 12 shows the same elements from FIG. 11 with the components nowmostly assembled in the configuration in which it would be commonlyused. The secondary cover 1110 is still shown somewhat removed from thenormal position to allow the reader a better view of the primary slits1109. It should be clear from the figure that the internal area of theECR chamber 1105 is almost completely isolated from the exteriorenvironment, safe for the openings in the slits 1109.

FIG. 13 shows the ECR chamber from the earlier figures with very smallpipes 1302 projected in an opening 1301 in the ECR chamber. By way ofnon-limiting example, the pipes 1302 can each have a diameter rangingfrom about 1 micron to about 1 mm. Such an arrangement of very smallpipes can be useful for the deposition of patterns such as used fordeposition of lines of metals on substrates. Furthermore, it will beunderstood that materials may be injected simultaneously to createmixtures inside the plasma region for co-deposition of materials thatare otherwise difficult to mix. It will also be understood that thematerial flow through the pipes may be deposited in a pulsed fashion sothat thin, alternating layers can be deposited onto a substrate. Thesearrangements could be convenient when depositing thin alternating layersof materials such as commonly done during Atomic Layer Deposition or forpatterned deposition of materials.

FIGS. 14A-14D show patterns of the deposition of various slotarrangements of various plasma deposition sources. In FIG. 14A, the exitopening of a common DC Arc plasma is depicted on the right side and amatching deposition pattern is shown on the left, which shows adeposition pattern primarily in a circular pattern similar to a patterncreated by a spray paint can. In order to attain very uniform layersover large areas the plasma source is typically moved over a patternusing a scanning motion. Oftentimes the pattern is repeated multipletimes so that several layers are deposited on top of each other tocreate a thicker layer with better uniformity, since non-uniformitiescan be averaged out in this way. In FIG. 14B the slot pattern of an ECRchamber is shown on the right side and the corresponding depositionpattern is shown on the left side of the figure. Depending on the lengthof slots, the deposition patterns may, or may not overlap with eachother. In FIG. 14C the slot pattern of an ECR chamber with diagonalslots is shown on the right and the corresponding deposition pattern isdepicted on the left. In the right side of FIG. 14D a slot pattern isshown with slots perpendicular to the primary axis of the system and thecorresponding deposition pattern is shown on the left. It should beevident from the figures that the length and angles of the slots can becarefully chosen so that a substrate that is coated receives a uniformoverall coating pattern. It should also be clear that the plasma sourceas well as the substrate can be moved to create multiple layers withbetter uniformity properties.

FIG. 15A shows a small particle comprising a core 1501 made out of afirst material covered by a shell 1502 made out of a second material.During the heating of the particle in a plasma such as described inaccordance with various embodiments of the present invention, the core1501 which can have a lower melting temperature as the shell 1502, canevaporate or evolve, thereby creating a hollow structure 1503 andopenings 1504 in such as structure. In FIG. 15B the resulting structureof such a process is sketched. It would be possible to create verycomplex structure with very large surface areas in this fashion, whichcan be of significant advantage for example for the making of catalyticconverters or membranes.

FIGS. 16A-16E show a number of embodiments for the placement of magnetson the side of the ECR chamber. FIG. 16A shows the magnet placement suchas substantially disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,305,935. FIG. 16B showsthe magnet placement such as substantially shown in FIG. 7. FIG. 16Cshows the magnet placement such as was substantially shown in FIGS. 11,12 and 13. In another embodiment shown in FIG. 16D the magnets on theside walls of the ECR chamber are placed at an angle to the surface ofthe chamber. In another embodiment shown in FIG. 16E, circular magnetsare used to create a pattern of magnets on the sides of the ECR chamber.It should be understood that the primary purpose of the magnets istwofold: 1) to create a high magnetic field close to the walls of theECR chamber and low in its center, and 2) to create helical paths ofcharged particles to enhance their collision probability with the otherparticles in the plasma.

FIG. 17A shows a cross sectional view of the assembly of wave guide 1702with the material feed pipes 1701 feeding material into the plasmaregion 1705 in accordance with one or more embodiments. The ECR chamber1703 is properly covered with magnets 1704 intended to prevent thecreated plasma from coming in touch with the ECR chamber walls. Theemitted plasma jets 1706 can be directed towards a substrate to betreated (not shown). FIG. 17B shows alternate embodiments of thematerial feed pipes 1707 entering from the sides of the wave guide orfeed pipes 1708 coming in from the side through the ECR chamber walls.In addition, the feed pipes 1709 and 1710 can be moveably located toinject materials in various locations in the plasma chamber. It shouldbe understood that various combinations and arrangements of feed pipescan be implemented to supply materials to the plasma region.

FIG. 18A shows a cross sectional view of the plasma chamber from FIG. 11with the primary cover 1801 and optional magnets 1802 installed in thecover. The ejected beam 1803 can now enter a region 1804 wherein thepressure is substantially different than the pressure in the ECR chamber1805 because of the flow restriction provided by the slot 1806. In theright hand of the FIG. 18B, a cross sectional view of the same systemwith an extraction plate 1808 is shown. The extraction plate 1808 ismounted on standoffs 1807 that are electrical insulators. The extractionplate 1808 can then be electrostatically charged to extract chargedparticles 1803 from the plasma region.

In FIG. 19A, a wave guide 1901 in accordance with one or moreembodiments is shaped in a circular or semicircular shape in conformanceto a cylindrical object 1904 that is to be coated. The ECR chamber 1902in turn is also circular or semi-circular in shape. Plasma jets 1903 areemitted towards the center of the system to treat the cylindricalsubstrate 1904. In FIG. 19B a waveguide 1901 now has an ECR chamber 1906on the outside of the waveguide and plasma jets 1907 are directedoutwards from the center of the system. The jets are directed towards aninternal cylindrical surface 1908 in order to treat or coat the insidesurface of such cylindrical pipe. It will be clear to those skilled inthe art that many other shapes of waveguide can be employed either withor without a correspondingly shaped ECR plasma chamber. In someembodiments, these systems can be employed to coat the inside surfacesof pipelines such as are commonly used for oil and gas transportation.In some embodiments, these systems can be used to create concentratesmicrowaves in parts of a human body. In some embodiments, such systemscan be used to coat cylindrical objects such as drills.

In FIG. 20A, a waveguide in accordance with one or more embodiments isshown that has a circular shape. Microwave radiation enters the systemat 2001 and transmitted through a short section of waveguide 2002 tocircularly shaped waveguide 2004. Slots 2003 cut in the side of thecircular waveguide 2003 can be used to transmit microwave radiation intoan optional ECR plasma chamber (not shown in the figure). On the rightside of the figure an alternate configuration of the waveguide is shownwhere a short section of the waveguide is removed so that a plunger 2005can be inserted at the end of the waveguide. The plunger allows foradjustment of the end of the waveguide in order to maximize the powertransmitted through the slots 2006 cut in the sides of the waveguide.This is similar in function as the wave plunger discussed in FIG. 11.

FIG. 21 shows another embodiment of a waveguide 2103 which has beenshaped in a helical shape. Microwaves enter the waveguide at the flange2101 and travel along the waveguide. The end of the waveguide isterminated again by a plunger 2104 that can be moved by an adjustmentscrew or mechanism 2105 in order to maximize the power emitted throughthe slots 2102. The waveguide shown in the figure could be used to emitmicrowaves into a helically shaped optional ECR chamber (not shown). Insome embodiments that utilize such an ECR chamber, such an assembly canbe used to create depositions on the inside of pipes as was shown, forexample in FIG. 19. In some embodiments, the secondary sleeves 2109 arepenetrated by one or more conduits to allow materials to pass thru tocreate a materials emission system (as, e.g., shown in FIG. 24) to allowmaterial to be entered into an ECR chamber.

The waveguide could also be used to emit microwave radiation in anOmni-directional fashion such as used in (plasma) RADAR systems. Itshould be clear to those skilled in the art that the system of FIG. 21could be used either with or without the secondary plunger assemblycomprising the secondary plunger housing 2107, the secondary plunger2108 and the secondary sleeve 2109. It should also be understood thatthe secondary plunger assembly can be adjusted to maximize or—ifdesired—minimize the power ejected through each slot. In someembodiments the secondary plungers are adjusted to create radiallyuniform emittance of radiation away from the central axis 2110. In otherembodiments the secondary plungers are adjusted to create emittance inone particular direction and not in other directions. In someembodiments, the secondary plungers face towards the inside of themicrowave tube (in the opposite direction as is shown in the figure).One advantage of such an arrangement is that microwave radiation can behighly concentrated along a primary axis of the system 2110. In anotherembodiment, such a concentration of microwaves can be used to generate alinear plasma region or to generate a deposition on a cylindrical objectsuch as shown for example in FIG. 19.

In FIG. 22, microwaves are entered into a waveguide 2202. The microwavesenter the wave guide at 2206. The wave guide is terminated by a plunger(not shown) at the end of the waveguide. Adjusting the plunger throughan adjustment mechanism 2201 allows the creation of wave maxima at ornear a set of primary slots that are cut into the bottom of thewaveguide (not shown). Opposite these slots a secondary plunger assemblyis present. The secondary plunger assembly (the “ejector” assembly)includes a housing 2203, a secondary plunger 2204 which is movablyconnected to the housing and a sleeve 2205. The sleeve 2205 can have oneor more passages cut through its center to allow for the convenienttransport of materials to an optional plasma chamber (not shown in thefigure). The sleeve 2205 can also be coated by a metal jacket or similarshield.

The first plunger is able to create a first standing wave inside themicrowave guide along the primary axis of the microwave guide. Adjustingthe first plunger allows tuning of the microwave guide to emit maximumthrough the slots. The secondary plunger 2204 is able to create a secondstanding wave in the chamber in a direction perpendicular to the primaryaxis of the wave guide and in the direction of the primary slots. Thesecondary plunger can be tuned to optimize a secondary standing wave toemit a maximum amount of power through a slot. The arrangement of aprimary and a secondary plunger system can allow for the creation of aSurface Wave Plasma to exit around the exit of the primary slot.

FIG. 23 shows a close up view of the secondary ejector system from FIG.22. In the figure, the housing 2203 is mounted to the wave guide housing2202. The secondary plunger 2204 is movable mounted with respect to thehousing 2203. A sleeve 2205 is mounted in a fixed orientation withrespect to the housing 2203. The movable plunger 2204 can be adjusted ina direction perpendicular to the central axis of the wave guide 2202 insuch a way that a secondary standing wave is create that is emitted onthe side of the waveguide opposite the ejector assembly.

FIG. 24 shows a cross sectional view of the system from FIGS. 22 and 23.As can be seen from the figure, the primary plunger 2401 can be moveableadjusted by the mechanism 2201. The primary slots 2402 are cut in theside of the waveguide. On the opposite side of the slots 2402, asecondary plunger assembly (the “ejector” assembly) is located thatcomprises the housing 2203, a secondary plunger 2204 and a sleeve 2205.The sleeve 2205 is sized so that a small gap exists between it and thecut in the wave guide. The small opening sets up strong electromagneticfields between the sleeve and the edge of the slots 2402. Such anarrangement can lead to the ejection or launching of standing plasmawaves also known as Surface Wave Plasma (SWP) waves.

FIG. 25 shows the cross sectional view of FIG. 24 in a close up so thatthe gap 2501 between the sleeve 2205 and the slot 2402 is more easilyvisible. It should be understood that multiple slots can be created invarious shapes and sizes. It will also be clear that the sleeve 2205 canhave one or several openings cut into it for the transportation ofmaterials.

FIG. 26 shows an arrangement of ejector assemblies 2601 that arearranged in two rows along the major axis of the wave guide 2202. Inthis arrangement the ejectors will each eject a Surface Wave Plasma jeton the opposite side of the surface that the ejectors are mounted to.

FIG. 27 shows a cross sectional view of the wave guide and plungerassembly of FIG. 22 combined with an ECR plasma chamber. The wave guideplunger 2401 and adjuster 2201 set up a primary standing wave inside thewave guide 2202. The ejectors (2203, 2204 and 2205) set up a secondarystanding surface wave plasma that is augmented by the ECR function ofthe plasma chamber. The combination of the two effects allows for a muchstronger mixing and emission of higher radiation from the plasma chamberas well as an easier ignition of the initial plasma discharge, howeverit should be understood that the optional magnets 2701, 2702, and 2703are not required to create a plasma, rather, the Surface Wave Plasma(SWP) effect is adequate to ignite and maintain a plasma discharge inthe chamber. The magnets 2701, 2702, and 2703 can be arranged in such asway that the magnetic field strength is high near the plasma chamberwalls, and significantly lower near the plasma chamber's center.Optional extraction slits 2704 allow for the creation of well definedbeam profiles as well as for an increase in pressure inside the plasmachamber. An optional secondary extraction slit 2705 cut into a plate2706 can be deployed with a proper electrostatic voltage applied toallow for the extraction of ions or electrons from the plasma region.

FIGS. 28A and 28B show another embodiment of a dual plunger system,wherein the primary plunger 2201 sets up a standing microwave along theprimary axis of a microwave guide 2202. The secondary ejector assemblies2801 are arranged in such a way as to generally maximize the microwaveemission from slots cut into the side of the waveguide. In such anarrangement microwaves have the potential to emit radiation much morestrongly from the slots as compared to a system that does not employ thesecondary ejector system.

FIG. 29 shows a cross sectional view of the arrangement of FIG. 28. Thesleeves 2901 are functioning as secondary antennae to help increase theemission of microwaves from the slots 2902. Such an arrangement may beemployed to increase the operating efficiency of microwave systems suchas used for RADAR.

FIG. 30 shows a close up of the cross sectional view of FIG. 29. Thesecondary ejector assembly comprises a housing 3001, a secondary plunger3002 as well as the sleeve 2901. Sleeve 2901 can also be moveablylocated to help optimize the emission of microwave radiation from themicrowave waveguide 2202.

FIG. 31 shows a set of microwave guides 3101 positioned on a mountingmechanism or frame 3102. The mounting mechanism or frame is positionedin such a way that the exit slots of the microwave guides face towards acommon focal area 3103. Microwave or plasma beams 3104 emitted from themicrowave guides 3101 all converge on one or more focal areas. It shouldbe understood that many arrangements or patterns can be conceived eachwith particular advantages for aiming radiation at a target area ortarget object.

FIGS. 32A and 32B depict the common layers used in a thin filmphotovoltaic structures as are known in the art. In the figure labeled32A, the layer 3201 is typically a transparent glass cover layer. Layer3202 is commonly a Transparent Conductive Oxide or TCO layer used tocreate a conductive film on the back of the glass. Layer 3203 is anamorphous Silicon (a-Si) layer, usually deposited with a highconcentration of Hydrogen. A back-side contact 3204 provides a metallic,electrically conductive layer. An encapsulation layer 3205 is usually apolymeric film that provides adhesion and environmental sealing to theback glass 3206. Incident photons pass through the front glass and TCOlayer and can be absorbed by the silicon layer wherein the photon maycreate an electron hole pair. The structure of layers is such that thesecharges can be collected on the front and rear contact layers, wherethey create a voltage that can be used to power devices.

As shown in FIG. 32B, the layers are augmented by an additional layer3207 also known as a Micromorph layer. A Micromorph layer usuallycomprises micro-crystalline silicon, which is formed using a CVDprocesses. A Micromorph layer allows photons of longer wavelengths thatare not captured in the amorphous silicon layer, to potentially still becaptured, thereby increasing the overall efficiency of photon-energyconversion. It is well known in the art that additional layers can bedesigned and integrated, each with the objective of converting adifferent section of the solar energy spectrum to electricity.

Such thin film structures however, still mostly require vacuumprocessing, which as discussed before uses expensive equipment, and hasusually the disadvantage of slow growth rates, particularly for thicklayers such as the Micromorph layer.

FIG. 33 illustrates a series of plasma sources in a variety ofconfigurations set up to construct a photovoltaic structure in a verysimple and continuous process flow in accordance with one or moreembodiments. The source 3301 could be set up as a source for thedeposition of a TCO layer on a substrate 3303. Source 3302 could be setup to deliver a doped silicon deposition to the substrate, whereassource 3304 may provide an intrinsic silicon layer. Subsequently source3305 may provide another silicon layer that is later doped by adifferent material in source 3306. Finally source 3307 may provide smallprinted contact lines or some other metallic contact layer to completethe structure. It should be understood that different sequences orvariations of sources can be conceived, and it should also be clear thatsuch sources can provide a partial set of process steps where othersteps may be performed in traditional deposition equipment or processequipment.

In some embodiments, such sequence of sources deposits the layers in asimilar order and thickness as provided in FIG. 32.

In another embodiment, a set of sources is set up by way of example todeposit layers of iron-oxide powder, which can be subsequently heated toform small droplets on the surface of a material. Another second sourcecan provide a flow of heated hydrocarbons for the creation of what iscommonly know in the art as carbon-nanotubes. Such manufacturingprocesses can be very useful in the creation of high quality capacitorsand batteries.

It should be understood that numerous films can be created in anappropriate sequence to coat a variety of substrates.

Referring again to the figure, substrates 3303 can be transportedunderneath the series of sources by convenient means such as rollers3308 or other methods of material transport. It should be understoodthat continuous films or webs can also be a potential substrate fordeposition by such deposition and treatment sources.

In FIG. 34 a plasma source in accordance with one or more embodiments ismounted in a portion of a vacuum chamber 3403. Microwaves enter a microwave guide at a flange 3407 and are ejected through openings in the waveguide 3405 into a plasma chamber 3409. As described before, themicrowave can be tuned for maximum power output by a plunger assembly3408, and materials can be inject by an injection system 3406. Anoptional set of extraction plates 3404 allows for the creation of an ionor electron curtain such as is commonly used in applications for iontreatment or ion implantation of substrates. Materials such as sheets ofglass 3401 or films or other suitable substrates can be moved into thetreatment region for processing through the openings 3402.

In FIG. 35, a cross sectional view is shown wherein the materialtransport pipes 3506 are going through a microwave guide 3505 into aplasma chamber 3503. The ends of (some of) the pipes 3504 aremechanically bent to direct streams of material into the plasma at asuitable angle. A substrate 3502 is transported underneath the plasmatreatment source by rollers 3501 or any other suitable transport system.The angle of the bent pipes 3504 is designed such that the materialsdeposit uniformly across a wavy surface of the substrate 3502. Intraditional coating systems it is sometimes hard to get uniform coatingcoverage across a non-planar surface, resulting in different andoftentimes undesirable characteristics of the deposited film. Thepresent system is able to shape the direction of the deposition toconform to surface contours such as shown in the figure. The use of bentpipes allows for a more uniform deposition without the need for complexmovement of the source or the substrate.

FIG. 36 illustrates how a plasma source 3602 can be used to treat alarge wavy surface such as a wavy glass plate 3601 in accordance withone or more embodiments. It should be understood that multiple sourcesand various geometries of surfaces can be employed to coat multiplelayers on non-planar surfaces. It should furthermore be understood thatthe combination of a shapeable wave guide base plasma source that can becombined with a deposition system that is shapeable as well will allowfor low cost, high throughput uniform coatings with a much bettercontrol over both uniformity and deposition contamination as compared tosystems that are currently in use today.

FIG. 37 illustrates a plasma source in accordance with some embodimentsfurther equipped with mass/charge separation system using magnets. As iscommonly known, ions can be mass separated using magnetic fieldsperpendicular to the ion's trajectory. Ions with different masses and/ordifferent charge (single, double or multiple charged ions) will followdifferent trajectories in such a magnetic field. In the figure, each ofthe extraction holes in the extraction plate 1808 line up to holes inthe ECR source cover plate 1801. The extraction plate 1808 is held at anappropriate voltage to extract ion beams 3706 through the holes in theplates. The injector assembly in this case can comprise a cylindricalpipe 3701 that is lined with a sleeve 3705. The secondary plunger 3703is movably connected between the sleeve 2205 and the housing 3704. Theplasma beam exiting from the ejector is aimed directly at the openingsin the extractor plates. As illustrated, the ion beam is diverted byelectromagnets (or permanent magnets in some embodiments) comprisingpole piece 3708 and coils 3707. The thus created electromagnetic fieldbends the ion beam that was extracted from the plasma.

FIG. 38 shows a cross sectional view through the extraction plane ofFIG. 37. As can be seen in the figure, the magnet assembly is made ofpole piece 3708 and coils 3707 and can be rotationally mounted aroundthe centerline 3803. The ion beam 3706 that is extracted enters themagnetic field created by the coils 3807. Because the extracted beamwill contain ions of different masses, such an arrangement causes thelighter ions to follow a tighter trajectory and exit the magnet asindicated in 3801, whereas heavier ions will follow a larger radius andexit the system around 3802. It will be clear to those skilled in theart that such an arrangement can be used to perform isotope isolationsuch as is needed for the purification of Uranium for fuel enrichment.One advantage of the embodiment of FIG. 38 over other methods currentlyin use is that the plasma density and separation will result in muchlarger material flows and hence in a faster system for isotopeisolation.

It should also be clear to those skilled in the art that the abovearrangement could be use to create propellant beams comprising ionizedmatter such as can be use to direct space craft. The magnets could berotationally mounted around the apertures in the extraction plate suchthat the ion beams can be set to point in any direction necessary todrive the space craft. The force exerted on the space craft will be inthe opposite direction of the exiting ion beams 3801 and 3802.

In FIG. 39 a different method for deflection of the extracted ions isshown. In the figure a set of electrostatic deflectors is employed thatcomprises oppositely charged plates 3901 and 3902. As is commonly known,an electrostatic deflector also will result in the separation of ions bymass and ion charge. As a result the exiting ion beams 3903 and 3904will contain different ion masses, where the beam 3904 will contain theheavier ions and the beam 3903 will contain the lighter ions. It shouldbe clear to those skilled in the art that any convenient arrangement ofslot shapes and extractor shapes could be conceived. The slots could beparallel to the main axis of the system, perpendicular or at an anglesuch as is shown in the figure.

FIG. 40 shows a cross sectional view of FIG. 39 wherein the crosssection is taken through the injector and extraction slits. Oneadvantage over a slotted extractor such as shown in FIGS. 39 and 40 isthat a wider beam can be accommodated as compared to the magneticseparator in FIGS. 37 and 38, resulting potentially larger materialtransport capabilities. Potential disadvantages of this approach arethat rotation of the exiting beams becomes more challenging and the useof electrostatic deflectors is known to cause “space-charge” blow-up ofpositively charged ion beams. The space-charge blow-up is caused becauseelectrons in the positively charged beam (which are normally present andprevent the beam from expanding under its own ion charges) are deflectedto the opposite side of the deflectors 3901 and 3902. As a result thebeam passing through the deflector is no longer space-charge neutral andrapid beam expansion occurs, which makes mass separation more difficult.In practice mass separation through magnetic separation such asillustrated in FIGS. 37 and 38 is more favorable since space-chargeproblems do not typically occur in magnetic fields.

Having thus described several illustrative embodiments, it is to beappreciated that various alterations, modifications, and improvementswill readily occur to those skilled in the art. Such alterations,modifications, and improvements are intended to form a part of thisdisclosure, and are intended to be within the spirit and scope of thisdisclosure. While some examples presented herein involve specificcombinations of functions or structural elements, it should beunderstood that those functions and elements may be combined in otherways according to the present invention to accomplish the same ordifferent objectives. In particular, acts, elements, and featuresdiscussed in connection with one embodiment are not intended to beexcluded from similar or other roles in other embodiments. Accordingly,the foregoing description and attached drawings are by way of exampleonly, and are not intended to be limiting.

What is claimed is:
 1. An apparatus for separating ions having differentmass or charge, comprising: a waveguide conduit having a plurality ofopenings therein, said waveguide conduit being coupled to a microwavesource for transmitting microwaves from the microwave source through theplurality of openings; one or more pipes having an outlet end positionedat each of the plurality of openings for transporting material from amaterial source to the plurality of openings; a plasma chamber incommunication with the waveguide tube through the plurality of openings,said plasma chamber receiving through said plurality of openingsmicrowaves from the waveguide tube and material from the one or morepipes, said plasma chamber including a plurality of magnets disposed inan outer wall of the plasma chamber for forming a magnetic field in theplasma chamber, said plasma chamber further comprising a charged coverat a side of the chamber opposite the side containing the plurality ofopenings, said cover including extraction holes through which ion beamsfrom the plasma chamber are extracted; and a plurality of deflectors,each coupled to one of the extraction holes for receiving the ion beamsextracted from the plasma chamber, each deflector bending an ion beamenabling ions to follow different trajectories based on their respectivemass or charge.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising aplunger moveably mounted in the waveguide conduit allowing the waveguideconduit to be tuned to generally optimize the power of the microwavesexiting the plurality of openings.
 3. The apparatus of claim 2, furthercomprising secondary openings formed in the waveguide conduit oppositesaid plurality of openings and a secondary set of plungers fitted insaid secondary openings to amplify radiation emitted through saidplurality of openings.
 4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein theapparatus is used to perform isotope isolation.
 5. The apparatus ofclaim 1, wherein the apparatus is used to create propellant beamscomprising ionized matter for use in spacecraft.
 6. The apparatus ofclaim 1, wherein the deflector includes magnets for creating a magneticfield for bending the extracted ion beam.
 7. The apparatus of claim 1,wherein the deflector comprises an electrostatic deflector includingoppositely charged plates for bending the extracted ion beam.
 8. Theapparatus of claim 1, wherein the waveguide conduit has a primary axisextending therethrough, and wherein the openings are located on a sideof the waveguide conduit to allow for the passage of the microwaves tothe plasma chamber in a direction generally perpendicular to the primaryaxis.
 9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the openings are oriented atan angle ranging between 0° and 90° to the primary axis of the waveguideconduit.
 10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein at least some of thepipes convey different materials to be mixed in the plasma chamber. 11.The apparatus of claim 10, wherein introduction of the differentmaterials can be independently controlled.
 12. The apparatus of claim 1,wherein the material comprises gases, powders, liquids, solids, orcombination thereof.
 13. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the materialcomprises particles made from a first material coated by a secondmaterial such that the first material has a lower melting temperaturethan the second material so that the first material melts away while inthe plasma chamber and thereby leaves a hollow shell that can bedeposited on the substrate.
 14. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein theone or more pipes comprise a plurality of pipes, at least some of whichinclude tapered openings or bends that allow for directional flow ofmaterial into the plasma chamber.
 15. The apparatus of claim 1, whereinthe waveguide conduit and plasma chamber have a shape conforming to theshape of the substrate to be coated.
 16. The apparatus of claim 15,wherein the shape comprises a circular shape or a helical shape.
 17. Theapparatus of claim 1, wherein the openings are spaced apart such thatthey are approximately ¼ of the wavelength of the microwaves in thewaveguide conduit.
 18. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the shape ofthe pipes conforms to the shape of a substrate being treated.
 19. Theapparatus of claim 1, wherein the pipes comprise a plurality of smallpipes positioned at each of the plurality of openings, wherein materialflow through each of the plurality of small pipes can be individuallycontrolled for pattern deposition.
 20. The apparatus of claim 19,wherein said small pipes each have a diameter ranging from about onemicron to about 1 mm.
 21. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein thewaveguide conduit and plasma chamber have a curved configuration suchthat the apparatus can be used for depositing material on the inside orthe outside of a pipe.
 22. An apparatus for separating ions havingdifferent mass or charge, comprising: a waveguide conduit having aplurality of openings at one side thereof and a plurality of slots at anopposite side thereof, each of said slots corresponding to one or moreopenings, said waveguide conduit being coupled to a microwave source fortransmitting microwaves from the microwave source through the waveguideconduit and enabling the microwaves to exit through the plurality ofslots; a plurality of pipes, one or more of which extends into thewaveguide conduit through each of the plurality of openings in thewaveguide conduit, each of said pipes having an outlet end positioned ata slot corresponding to the opening through which said pipe extends fortransporting material from one or more material sources to the pluralityof slots, wherein a gap exists between the outlet end of each pipe and aslot at which it is positioned; a plasma chamber in communication withthe waveguide tube through the plurality of slots, said plasma chamberreceiving through said plurality of slots microwaves from the waveguidetube through said gaps and material to be melted or evaporated from thepipes, said plasma chamber including a plurality of magnets disposed inan outer wall of the plasma chamber for forming a magnetic field in theplasma chamber to enable formation of a plurality of plasma regionstherein, said plasma chamber further comprising a charged cover at aside of the chamber opposite the side containing the plurality of slots,said cover including extraction holes through which ion beams from theplasma chamber are extracted; and a plurality of deflectors, eachcoupled to one of the extraction holes for receiving the ion beamsextracted from the plasma chamber, each deflector bending an ion beamenabling ions to follow different trajectories based on their respectivemass or charge.